


Marble and Sandstone

by red_camellia



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Getting Together, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Pining, SakuAtsu, Slow Burn, Volleyball Dorks & Nerds, atsumu is a hopeless idiot, bokuto appears briefly, sakusa doesn't know anything about love, slight supernatural element
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:20:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27032569
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/red_camellia/pseuds/red_camellia
Summary: Miya Atsumu only cares about volleyball and nothing else. That is, until he develops a strange obsession with the marble statue of a young man that seems vaguely familiar in his university's arts department. One day that statue comes alive as the very real Sakusa Kiyoomi, and they are left with the mystery of why Sakusa Kiyoomi was turned into a statue and only came back to life when Atsumu touched him. Their new-found connection and the strange mystery turns Atsumu's life upside down, not least because of his growing feelings for Sakusa.
Relationships: Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Comments: 9
Kudos: 119
Collections: Haikyuu Angst Week 2020





	1. ONE - Miya Atsumu

**Author's Note:**

> I have had this idea with a statue coming alive for a while now and it has not let go off me because I wanted it to be in an everyday setting and not a Fantasy setting.  
> Sakuatsu has taken over my life now and demanded I write this story with them in it. So I hope you'll enjoy this!

Loud chatter surrounds Miya Atsumu as he rushes to his class, taking a shortcut through the arts department of his university. He’s late, even if he runs he won’t make it in time and the professor hates him. He will definitely ‘let this reflect in his final grade’, as he always says. It’s one of these moments in which Atsumu considers simply dropping out of university. He had not wanted to go in the first place but since his parents had pestered him so much about it, he had finally given in. Or at least he had agreed to enrol, he had said nothing about attending courses. It is a waste of time anyways. All Atsumu really cares about is volleyball. He could play professionally without going to university but instead he wastes his time here at this university. Of course, there is a volleyball team, which isn’t bad either. All of them want to play professionally later on. This team is the only reason for Atsumu to come to university at all, just to play. Atsumu stops in his tracks as he sees the large clock hanging over one of the auditorium halls. He’s 10 minutes late, might as well skip the class entirely. With a sigh he drops his bag and slides down the wall. Atsumu isn’t really one who cares for the arts but he likes hanging out in the arts department. Whenever he skips classes, that is to say, when he is late for classes and then decides not to go, he stops here.

The long corridors with the classrooms and halls lead into a small open almost circular room, where the art students usually display their works. This semester there is a marble statue on display. Just one. Now that Atsumu thinks about it, the statue had been there in the holidays, too. He had noticed it when he and the team had come to get the keys for the sports hall from the caretaker’s office. Maybe it is a project from last semester. Atsumu sits on the cold floor and looks up at the marble statue. It is nicely done, better than anything that has ever been on display here before. It shows a young man. He is very tall, even if Atsumu stood up he would be taller than Atsumu. The statue is made out of white stone, what Atsumu guesses to be marble. He doesn’t know anything about the arts after all. Nonetheless, the statue looks strangely real and now that Atsumu starts looking at the statue properly, he looks vaguely familiar. The statue man doesn’t look very Japanese, however. It is probably the clothing. He’s wearing something that looks like a short bed sheet that is loosely draped around his shoulders and doesn’t even reach down to his knees. This reminds Atsumu of something. A history class in middle school. Something about Europe maybe? They had been looking at pictures of some ancient folk and … Atsumu can’t remember what the teacher had said. But he remembers distinctly how the other guys had complained that all the pictures only showed half naked men and no women. Atsumu, however, had not minded. He had liked looking at the pictures of statues and paintings. It was not necessarily the faces that had intrigued him but the bodies. This was probably the first time he had really looked at another person’s naked body - a male body - and had felt interest piquing inside him. Not that it had led anywhere, not in middle school and neither in high school. If there had been any boys who were like him they had never shown any interest in Atsumu. He had a few crushes here and there in high school but had never confessed or followed through with them. To avoid suspicion he had tried dating a few girls in high school but it had never really worked out. He had not particularly liked any of them, it had not been bad to be intimate with a girl but it had never excited him, there was no spark, no rush of adrenaline as there should be, how he was constantly reminded by classmates, team mates and stupid TV dramas.

Neither his classmates nor his teammates dated boys and TV dramas also were all about girls falling in love with a boy, boys falling in love with a girl… all the same.

It doesn’t bother Atsumu all that much, really. Volleyball is all he cares about. If there wasn’t just that tiny nagging feeling that he’s falling behind.

With a sigh he shakes his head to rid himself of these intrusive thoughts. The marble statue is well done but he can’t say that the man shown is particularly handsome. He has a scowl on his face.

“Hey”.

Atsumu flinches and turns his head. A girl with a paint brush tugged behind her ear walks up to him. “Hi”, Atsumu says. “Late again?” she asks.

“Not in the mood for class”, Atsumu says but she grins. Atsumu tries to remember her name, but he keeps forgetting. They often run into each other when Atsumu takes this shortcut or hangs around in this hall. Sometimes they talk, she’s nice but something about the way she phrases things really irks Atsumu. She always sounds like she’s making fun of him.

“That new?” Atsumu asks and nods toward the statue. “Yeah, it was the final project of some girl last semester. She went all out, huh?” she says.

“Well, I’m just getting something. I’ll leave you two alone then”, she says with a crooked smile. Atsumu nods and she disappears around the corner.

A few days later, Atsumu is back again, not because he’s late or not in the mood for class. Just because. He sits on the floor and looks at the statue. Why is he so familiar?

He can’t say that it is a pleasant feeling all together, staring at that vaguely familiar man, but something keeps drawing him back. And so Atsumu spends his first month of the semester sitting on a cold stone floor staring at a marble statue as if it was a final exam and he had to remember the answer.

“Thought I’d find you here”. The arts girl is back. It is afternoon and it looks like her classes are over for the day, she carries a backpack thrown over one shoulder and a plastic bag in her right hand. The corridor begins to fill with people and their chatter echoes over to the open room where Atsumu sits.

“You can’t get enough of him, huh? Have you come up with a name for him?” she asks and jerks her head toward the statue. There is an undertone that Atsumu doesn’t like. He glares at her with a comment on his tongue, but she raises her hand.

“Alright, alright. I’m sorry”, she says. “Listen, I asked around and turns out that guy stood in your department at the end of last semester”, she says. “Really? Why in the sports department?” he asks surprised. “Uh, he was some sort of good luck charm or something. People would touch his shoulder before any match for good luck until one of the guys broke his arm. But I guess since there were so many matches in that week, it’s probably because too many people were touching the statue. He was only up there for a week”, she says. “So they put him here”. Atsumu looks at the statue. Curly hair, two moles above his right eyebrow, a slight scowl, one arm slightly lifted. Somehow his hair looks soft. How does one do that with stone? He frowns, it feels like a vague memory stirs in the back of his mind.

“I heard the girl who made the statue based it off of some dude she liked”, the girl continues. “Are you sure? She didn’t really compliment him though, did she? I mean with that face?” Atsumu says. The girl laughs. “Want me to find out his name?” she asks. Atsumu raises his eyebrows. She winks. “I’ll be super discrete”, she says. Then she leaves.

Somehow the statue keeps on plaguing Atsumu, he can’t say why but like an addict he comes back. Before volleyball training, after volleyball training, on free days, when he skips a lecture or a class, he takes his shortcut on days on which he is on time, just to see the statue. As his obsession with this statue grows embarrassingly fast and intense, Atsumu feels more and more ashamed. It’s just a statue, he thinks but feels like even the statue judges him. He can’t share his obsession with anyone, not even his twin brother. What is he supposed to say? I’m addicted to looking at a man made out of stone. No. Ridiculous.

There is still a mild curiosity to who the statue represents and at the same time Atsumu doesn’t really want to know. The secret, the mystery is what makes it so intriguing. As long as Atsumu does not remember who the statue reminds him off, he can enjoy looking at him.

But he feels increasingly stupid, if not insane. He steals glances at the statue as if it was a living being, as if he was in high school, stealing glances at a classmate whom he had a crush on. There are tiny details in that scowling face that Atsumu has begun to notice and has grown fond of. He thinks that the girl who made the statue really had to love this guy for being so detail-oriented. How else could she have gotten the shape of his lips look like this? Atsumu had once dared to go up really close to look at the face. But ever since he had not dared to do it again. It had felt like he had invaded the man’s personal space and once again he had to remind himself that it was just a statue.

Yet knowing that this statue was built after a real life person made it hard for Atsumu not to try and think about how this man was like.

Atsumu is once again daydreaming about the marble statue, sitting in the room but not daring to look at it, because he fears anyone has caught onto his obsession and he is definitely aware how weird it is, when the arts girl turns up, waving.

“I’ve got you a name”, she says smiling. Sakusa Kiyoomi. Atsumu inhales so dramatically that the girl looks startled. “The training camp! Of course”, Atsumu calls. He finally remembers that guy.

“You know him?” she asks carefully. “Yeah”, Atsumu says as he recalls a rather unsocial and unpleasant guy who had a compulsive urge to disinfect everything and would always wear a mask. No wonder he hadn’t recognise him, the statue has no mask covering half the face.

“He was from the sports department, or maybe health… I don’t know. He dropped out, though”, she says. Atsumu is hardly listening.

“I – he dropped out?” he vaguely repeats. “Well, he didn’t take his exams last semester, he just disappeared at the end of the semester. But you know, people say he’s always kept others at a distance”, she says and shrugs. Then she’s off. Atsumu thought that finding out who this guy is would end his obsession and break the spell of mystery, but it doesn’t. He looks back up at the statue. He doesn’t remember much of Sakusa Kiyoomi. He thinks he didn’t really like Sakusa back then or maybe he did and that’s why he pushed him to the back of his mind.

It’s late afternoon, the room is empty and Atsumu is alone with the statue. The afternoon sun falls into the room through the high windows and paints the off-white stone a soft gold. Atsumu gets up from the cold floor and like a sleepwalker he walks up to the statue. Was it a trick of light? He could have sworn he had seen a twinkle in the eyes. He knows that they are not allowed to touch the statue because it could break but he can’t resist any longer. He reaches out his hand and it feels like the same urge he had for the past month to come back to this statue. As if something has taken control over his body. He touches the statue’s hair. Atsumu had fully expected it to feel soft, because the curls look soft. But his fingertips meet cold stone. The stone isn’t smooth either, it is rough and feels porous. There is a sudden crunching sound, like stones grinding.

“Oh no, oh no”, Atsumu gasps and backs away. “Don’t break, please, don’t break, don’t break”, he says as the statue begins to sway. But it doesn’t break, it moves. Slowly the statue moves its head as colour rushes into the face and the hair turns black. Sakusa Kiyoomi shudders like a real human being and then looks at Atsumu. In the next second, Atsumu finds himself looking at the ceiling. How odd. Did he fall asleep and dream that weird stuff? But then there is a harsh pain in his sides and he looks up. Sakusa nudges him with his foot. Atsumu stares back up at him and then scrambles backwards. He fainted!

“Oh god, that isn’t real” Atsumu mutters and pinches himself. He doesn’t wake up. Sakusa turns around and walks away. “Hey!” Atsumu shouts louder than intended and Sakusa stops. “Where – where are you goin’? Are you – are you really Sakusa Kiyoomi?” the questions blurt out.

“Who else would I be?” Sakusa says sharply. His voice is hoarse. His eyebrows furrow and he clears his throat. “You – you – you were a statue”, Atsumu says blankly. Sakusa frowns and rubs his naked arms. “Seems like it”, Sakusa murmurs. “Oh god, this is happenin’”, Atsumu murmurs and gets to his feet. “Listen, it’s winter, you can’t go out like that”, he says. Sakusa looks down and makes a disgruntled sound. “I need to take a shower”, is the next thing Sakusa says. “Fine”, Atsumu says. “Do you live on campus?” Sakusa shakes his head. “Well, good luck riding a train to your home then”, Atsumu says. Sakusa looks horrified. With a sigh Atsumu takes off his jacket and pulls out his sweatpants from his bag. “Here. I live close by, come”, he says. Sakusa seems to fight an internal battle but the insanity of this whole situation seems to sink in and Sakusa takes the clothes. As the white sheets slides up, Atsumu sees more than he expected to because it seems like Sakusa is not wearing any underwear. “No, I’m going home”, Sakusa says clipped.

Somehow Atsumu ends up going with Sakusa which is a good thing because when they arrive at the high-rise building, it turns out that Sakusa had been kicked out for not paying rent. Because he was gone for a few months. Frozen as a stone statue.

Atsumu feels a strange pulling in his chest as he looks at Sakusa who stares at the concierge who at least still has all of Sakusa’s things collected in two cardboard boxes. “We can go to my place”, Atsumu murmurs. He doesn’t know what else to say to someone whose world is crushing around them. But it isn’t really an everyday thing that one was turned into a statue and then came back to life.

“Fine. Let’s get this over with. Quick”, Sakusa presses out. Atsumu helps carrying one of the boxes. He leads the way to his crappy apartment. It seems like Osamu isn’t home yet. Sakusa hurries into the bathroom and within minutes Atsumu hears the shower running. When Sakusa returns with a towel wrapped around his hips and with damp hair, he heads for the cardboard boxes and pulls out clothes. “You can stay here for the night. I think my brother won’t mind”, Atsumu says. Sakusa shortly looks at him and then at the bedroom door that is standing open. Sakusa agrees eventually, seeing that there is no other option. But Atsumu has to put fresh bed sheets on and while he struggles with the bed sheets, Sakusa starts disinfecting every door handle and wipes down anything he would touch. Somehow Sakusa also gets Atsumu to go down to the 7/11 and buy hand sanitiser, cleaning gloves and a package of masks.

“Yo, ‘Tsumu. Did you kill someone in here and have it professionally cleaned or why does it smell like –?”

Atsumu rushes into the hallway where his twin brother stares at Sakusa standing there with cleaning gloves and a mask. “Uhm, Sakusa will stay the night”, Atsumu says into the thick silence. “Okay”, Osamu says slowly. “Hi”, he says then to Sakusa. “Hi”. It sounds as if Sakusa has to force himself to speak, then he turns abruptly around and walks away. “Who’s that?” Osamu asks when Sakusa has disappeared into the bedroom. “You don’t have any friends”, Osamu adds sceptically. Atsumu glares at him. “You’re one to talk”, Atsumu snaps. “It’s – complicated”. He doesn’t know either. His mind doesn’t seem to work. He has not been thinking for the past hours, just reacting. It is true. It is complicated. How does one explain seeing a statue come to life? The very statue he had been obsessed with for the past month. Atsumu doesn’t quite know what or how to feel. He might just pass out another time if he tries to wrap his head around this whole thing, so he has decided to just accept it for now.

“He looks familiar”, Osamu says, pulling Atsumu out of his confusing thoughts. “Yeah, he played – plays volleyball, too”, Atsumu says and another memory resurfaces. “He was at the camp… from that school with the horrendous sports uniform that looks like a glow stick”, he adds. Osamu seems to remember. “Well, I’m not sleeping in a room with you and your – boyfriend”, Osamu says. “I – what? He’s not!” Atsumu calls. “I’m going to Rintaro’s place”, Osamu says not listening to Atsumu.

“But I’m not – “, Atsumu calls, blood rushing in his ears. He doesn’t know why he denies it. Not the boyfriend part, the other one. The secret. The liking-boys-part. Osamu raises his eyebrows. “Don’t be stupid, like I cared”, Osamu says and nudges him a little softer than usually.

The door shuts after him and when Atsumu goes back to the bedroom, Sakusa is staring at Atsumu’s laptop screen. “What are you doin’?” Atsumu asks. “Looking for a new place to stay. I can’t stay here”, Sakusa says. Atsumu hopes that Sakusa has not overheard the conversation. Then again with everything that has happened so far, it couldn’t get any weirder.

“Do you… know how all of that happened?” Atsumu asks carefully. “No, I’ll just forget about it. It’s for the better”, Sakusa says tersely. “Don’t stare”, he says after a while. Atsumu flinches at being caught.

“You’ve been doing that for the past month more than enough. It was getting creepy”, Sakusa says without looking up from the laptop. “Wait, you were actually… while you were a statue, you could actually see stuff?” Atsumu asks curiously. “Unfortunately”, Sakusa says through gritted teeth. Atsumu feels himself blush like an idiot and looks away. It doesn’t matter, Sakusa isn’t looking anyway.

It is weird. You cannot like someone you don’t know. Of course, that’s how everyone confesses and starts dating. You tell someone that you like them, even if you don’t know them. Every single girl Atsumu has dated had liked him based on his looks. He had never even spoken to them before they confessed. It has never occurred to him how weird it is. That’s just how things work. But here he stands in his room and stares at Sakusa across the room as he has been doing for the past month, only now he is alive and breathing. And he still draws Atsumu in. He has to look. He can’t help it. Without the scowl Sakusa Kiyoomi is actually handsome. He has a nice voice, even if he says so little. But it can’t be why Atsumu is so drawn to him.

“Will you stop staring?” It’s not a question. Sakusa sounds annoyed. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just witnessed how a marble statue turned into a real human being. Maybe that’s an everyday thing to you but not to me. It ain’t easy to wrap my head around that”, Atsumu shoots back. How can Sakusa remain so calm about everything? Atsumu has been suppressing the urge to scream for the last few hours. “It was sandstone”, Sakusa says. “What?” Atsumu asks. “Not marble, sandstone”, Sakusa says. Atsumu huffs. “Whatever”.

Being drawn to someone doesn’t equal liking someone. It doesn’t feel like he actually likes Sakusa. “How come you know my name?” Sakusa asks after a long pause. “Huh? We were both at the volleyball camp in high school. All Japan Youth camp”, Atsumu says. Sakusa looks up. Their eyes meet. A strange tingling feeling spreads from Atsumu’s shoulders into his fingertips. He has almost gotten used to look into colourless unmoving eyes, now there are black eyes looking at him.

“If you don’t remember my name, just say so”, Atsumu says to break the odd moment. “No, I remember”, Sakusa says. “Miya”, he adds just to prove his point. “Atsumu. I have a twin brother, it gets confusing when people use our last name”, Atsumu says. Sakusa’s eyes narrow and he looks back at the screen. “We’re not familiar enough to use first names”, he says. “I bet there is no one ever familiar enough with you”, it slips past Atsumu’s lips before he had time to think about it. Sakusa stops in his movement, he does not look offended but there is something dark in his eyes.

“I suppose”, he says. Then it occurs to Atsumu that Sakusa was gone for a few months but no one took care of his apartment. Has anyone even been looking for him?

Atsumu has never put much effort into making friends left and right, he always has had his twin brother. Sure they fight all the time and no one could be meaner or more hurtful than one’s own brother, but at the end of the day they are brothers and if Atsumu disappeared, Osamu would look for him, like Atsumu would look for him.

As Atsumu dwells on his thoughts, he doesn’t realise that it has gotten dark and is surprised by darkness when Sakusa breaks the silence.

“I found something, I think I’ll –“, Sakusa says. “It’s almost 6 PM! There’s no food, Osamu usually cooks but he has gone out again”, Atsumu says not listening to Sakusa. “We’ll have to eat out”. He gets up. “Miya!”

The panic in Sakusa’s voice makes him whirl around abruptly. Sakusa stares at him, panic and confusion in his eyes. His hands have turned white and are not moving. Both stare at Sakusa’s arms slowly turning back into stone. “Oh crap”, Atsumu curses. “What do we do? What do we do?” he asks. “We have to stop it!” Sakusa calls. He looks like he’s about to lose it for the first time. “How?” Atsumu almost shouts. “How would I know that?” Sakusa glares at him. “You broke the curse in the first place!” Atsumu is taken aback. “I did what?” Sakusa shifts uncomfortably.

“Do you have any idea how many filthy hands touched me while I was a statue and nothing happened? Then you turn up and -“, Sakusa says. So Atsumu does the only thing that comes to his mind and he puts his hand on Sakusa’s right hand. It is cold and feels rough. How odd it is to know that he’s human but his hands look and feel like that of a statue. Sakusa pulls a face, he hates being touched. But the stone stops spreading right at Sakusa’s shoulders and then with a crunching sound, it draws back and dissolves, leaving behind nothing but a fine dust in the air. Sakusa quickly checks his hands, then he jumps up and hurries to wash the hand that Atsumu has touched. When Sakusa returns, Atsumu has collected his thoughts.

“Okay, since this seems to come back, you owe me an explanation since you haven’t even thought of thankin’ me”, Atsumu says. Sakusa looks pained. “You said it was a curse”, Atsumu says. “Yeah, what else could it be?” Sakusa snaps. “You don’t remember how you ended up a marble man?” Atsumu asks. “Sandstone”, Sakusa interrupts him. “Yeah, yeah”, Atsumu says off-handedly. “So?”

Sakusa pauses for a moment. “I don’t know”, he confesses finally. “Well, you must remember somethin’”, Atsumu demands. Sakusa shakes his head. “Let’s go to uni tomorrow and see if it brings back any memories”, Atsumu suggests. Sakusa hums.

They eat out but Sakusa hardly eats anything, he seems anxious and uncomfortable. Atsumu isn’t sure whether it’s because Sakusa thinks that the hygiene standards are not up to his standard or because there are so many people around him. But Sakusa has put him through enough for one day, he has to put up with Atsumu for once.

Sakusa is terse and hard to converse with although Atsumu usually has no trouble making conversation. Sakusa is tough to get through. He’s a mystery, a secret, a riddle to be solved. Intriguing.

The next morning Atsumu wakes up his head buzzing and he is confused but not yet sure why. He almost has a heart attack when finds Sakusa in the bed Osamu usually occupies. He must have screamed because someone next doors complains loudly. The events of yesterday come back to him just as confusing and overwhelming as before. Yesterday feels like it could have been a week long. Sakusa has entirely turned back into a statue over night. Atsumu hesitates and then reaches for Sakusa’s hand. “Oi, Sakusa?” he asks carefully. A crunching sound and Atsumu pulls his hand back as the stone disappears and Sakusa sits up abruptly. “What’s with that look?” Sakusa says. He sounds exhausted. “I feel like throwin’ up”, Atsumu says truthfully. Sakusa backs away.

“You know it’s creepy how you turn to stone and back into a human?” Atsumu says. It’s not disgusting, that’s not what he had meant. The transformation does not look like out of a horror-movie. It is almost beautiful, if it wasn’t so scary.

Sakusa rubs his hands and wrists. “Not comfortable either”, he murmurs. Then he goes to take a shower.

Sakusa moves out the same afternoon. Atsumu is amazed at how fast Sakusa had found a new place, given that it had taken him forever to find something and he isn't picky. Atsumu helped Sakusa carry his cardboard boxes to his new place and they immediately went to the university. But no matter where they went Sakusa could not recall anything.

They stop at the open room where Sakusa had stood for the last few months and Atsumu shudders at that thought. He notices a strange look in Sakusa’s eyes. The only part visible now that he has gone back to wearing masks. Before Atsumu can say anything they are approached by a group of students trying to invite them to their art exhibition next week. Atsumu is dragged to the side by one of the girls who throws him hopeful glances but Atsumu doesn’t notice. His eyes are looking for Sakusa. Another girl is talking to him not far from the small, now empty pedestal where he used to stand as a statue. Atsumu takes the flyer the girl is offering him and tells her he would love to come and then looks back at Sakusa. His face is rigid, the girl who is talking to him does not seem to notice how much Sakusa wants to get out of this conversation. With a sinking feeling, Atsumu realises that Sakusa looks a bit too rigid. He does not move his legs, he is standing unnaturally still. Without an explanation, Atsumu rushes over. “Hey, could you excuse us for a second?” he asks the girl who is talking to Sakusa. She looks startled. “Like now?” Atsumu adds. At this the girl looks offended and walks away.

“My legs!” Sakusa whispers. “Yeah, I noticed”, Atsumu murmurs. “I even let her touch my hand, but it didn’t do anything”. Atsumu frowns. It is difficult to touch Sakusa without it drawing attention. He turns sideways and casually lets his hand brush against Sakusa and quickly retrieves it. He checks whether someone noticed, but the group has taken to talk to other students in the hall. “Nothing”, Sakusa says. There is a flicker of panic in his eyes now. “Maybe… I need to touch a different part of you”, Atsumu says. “What?” Sakusa says pointed. “Well, so far I always touched a different part of you, didn’t I? Hair, left hand, then right hand”, Atsumu explains. Sakusa looks pained. “Fine”. He rolls up one of the sleeves of his jacket offering Atsumu his underarm. Atsumu looks around before touching it. There is the familiar crunching sound and Sakusa takes a step forward. He looks relieved.

It takes them 3 more days to figure out how the stone thing works. Every 4 hours, with bad luck every 3 hours and with good luck every 5 hours, Sakusa slowly turns back to stone unless Atsumu touches him somewhere on bare skin. Given the short problem in the university hall, it also seems like he has to touch somewhere different each time and he is the only one that can stop the process of turning into stone. Which poses a problem because there are parts Atsumu surely should not touch. And he isn’t so sure whether he would even want that.

The time window of at least 3 hours gives them thankfully the time for volleyball practice without fear of turning into stone midway. The made-up excuse of a relative's sudden death and that Sakusa had to leave abruptly last semester is accepted by everyone without further questions. Sakusa is welcomed back on the volleyball team and somehow he also manages to get enrolled into his courses although the semester has already started. The only thing that draws attention is the fact that Atsumu and Sakusa hang out now. Atsumu understands why. They could not be more different from one another and spend most of their time bickering. But Sakusa needs Atsumu so he has to put up with the messiest boy on earth and Atsumu…

Atsumu still doesn’t know. The stone thing is an everyday thing now, which doesn’t mean that he understands it. They sort of live together in Sakusa’s new apartment, which is also the new normal but Atsumu does not know what to make of it.

Not until he’s home at his own place and is surprised he finds it rather dirty and his brother makes a snarky comment when Atsumu disinfects his hands properly before they eat, out of habit, not because Sakusa is with them. It’s a habit now. Before he touches Sakusa he washes his hands, he avoids touching door handles directly and wipes down surfaces before he puts food there.

“You know, you shouldn’t change for someone to like you”, Osamu says as he watches Atsumu stuff his dirty clothes into the washing machine. Sakusa would never let Atsumu wash his clothes at Sakusa’s place because their clothes could get mixed up and land in the same washing machine. “I’m not”, Atsumu says but Osamu rips the detergent out of his hands. “What’s this then? Here, even our new detergent makes sure to kill 99.9% bacteria. You never cared about … all that stuff”, Osamu says. Atsumu shrugs. “How did he even end up likin’ you?” Osamu asks. “He doesn’t”. He doesn’t. Of course, Atsumu knows that, but saying it is different. It feels sharp on his tongue.

Osamu opens his mouth. “It’s not unrequited love, save your stinky breath”, Atsumu hisses and snatches the detergent back. “Ouch”, Osamu says. “So it definitely is”.

Maybe he’s right. Love is a bit strong, Atsumu thinks. But he has never been in love, he doesn’t know what it’s supposed to feel like. It’s not like the TV dramas, in mangas or how his teammates talk about it. Sakusa is not a girl. There is no shyness between them, there is no space for that when you have to touch to prevent turning into stone. Sometimes it’s awkward when they have to find spaces to touch but they have managed to time it perfectly so that they are always alone when Sakusa’s stone turning process begins. Sakusa still doesn’t like being touched. At least he always looks like it causes him physical pain. They don’t flirt, they only fight. When they don’t, they talk about practical things. Where to eat, what to do that day, planning how and where to meet to counteract the stone turning process. Sometimes they talk about volleyball and then it’s almost nice and Atsumu tries not to think about the times when it’s nice. When Sakusa smiles or laughs or when he lets him closer than usual, when Sakusa finally gave in to Atsumu calling him "Omi", how his body tingles when Sakusa looks at him. 

They don’t talk about the stone thing because it’s scary. Will it be awkward when Atsumu absolutely has no other choice but to touch him somewhere very intimate? And what if that’s all done, what when no other part is left? Atsumu is scared of the day that Sakusa turns back into stone and there is nothing he can do. He doesn’t want to lose him. He doesn't want to admit that his brother is right. He just might have fallen in love with Sakusa.

How cruel to love someone who is dependent on you and keeps you close but would never love you back.

Two weeks after Atsumu released Sakusa from his statue form, he wakes up Sakusa by nervously putting his hand onto Sakusa’s thigh. Sakusa blinks rapidly as soon as he is fully human again.

“I think I just remembered something”, is the first thing he says. “Yeah?” Atsumu asks.

“Before I – was turned into that statue, a girl had asked me to meet her. She confessed to me, I turned her down. That was in the arts department”, Sakusa says. “It’s the last thing I remember. I was in one of the classrooms I think. It looked like an atelier”. Atsumu stands up. “Well then, let’s go!”

Half an hour later they arrive at the university. The matter is so pressing that Sakusa seems to bear with the amount of people surrounding him without even batting an eye. They check every classroom in the arts department until they finally find said atelier. There are two boys and a girl in there. “That’s her”, Sakusa says to Atsumu’s surprise. What are the odds? The three students turn to leave and as the girl sees Sakusa she freezes. The door falls shut behind the two boys and there is a ringing silence.

“How – I – what?” she stutters. Sakusa frowns. “What did you do to me?” he says without any preamble. She stares at him. Then her eyes fall on Atsumu. “Who’s this?” she asks carefully. “Doesn’t matter right now”, Sakusa cuts in between. “What did you do to me?” he repeated. “Undo it!” Suddenly her face changes. The surprise turns into a twisted smile.

“I knew it”, she says. Her voices trembles. “Sakusa Kiyoomi could never love someone”. Sakusa doesn’t reply. “What do you mean?” Atsumu asks into the silence.

“I can’t believe someone fell in love with a stone cold bastard like you!” the girl calls. “Stone cold”, Atsumu repeated. “Yeah. I just matched his outer appearance to his inside”, she says. “It stops when someone who genuinely likes you touches you. I can’t believe someone like that turned up. But it doesn’t matter, it only stops when you like her back and that won’t happen”, she hisses.

Atsumu feels like a massive weight has hit him in the face. He wants to turn around and run and never look back. This is not how he wanted Sakusa to find out. He had not wanted him to find out ever, in the first place. Sakusa shows no reaction to that.

“And what if that person already touched every part then… there is no helping it?” he asks. The girl looks confused. “What do you mean?” Sakusa frowns. “Well, you have to touch a different part every time, no?” She frowns. “No”. Then she gives him a mean smile. “Good luck”. And she rushes out. The door falls shut behind her. Now it’s awkward, terribly awkward.

Atsumu cannot take it, he doesn’t want Sakusa to look at him and he doesn’t want to look at him either. He whirls around and flings the door open. He feels like crying and screaming. It feels like losing a game. The sound of the ball bouncing off the ground that announces that you lost the game. That booming sound, silence and then screaming.

He doesn’t even realise where he is going and that Sakusa is following him until Sakusa grabs him by the arm. He says nothing. They say nothing for the rest of the day. Atsumu even skips volleyball practice, which he has never done before.

When Sakusa slowly turns to stone that evening, he unceremoniously grabs Sakusa’s arm without washing his hand first. He waits until Sakusa turns back to normal, then he lies down in bed and turns his back on Sakusa. “Miya”, Sakusa says carefully. “Don’t push yourself, Omi”, Atsumu says thickly. There is nothing to be said, nothing to undo the damage. If Sakusa turned back to stone entirely, he would be rid of that humiliating feeling. But he doesn’t want that either.

“Tomorrow we go out, look for someone you can fall in love with”, he mutters. “I don’t think that will work”, Sakusa says tentatively. Atsumu does not turn around. “Probably not”.

A long silence, a door closing and then the sound of the shower. A while later, the bed creaks softly as Sakusa lies down. They have slept in the same bed for almost two weeks now. Of course with their respective sides strictly separated by a long pillow. It is quiet and Atsumu hears that Sakusa is not sleeping either.


	2. TWO - Sakusa Kiyoomi

It is dark and the display from the digital clock on the bedside table tells Sakusa that it is 2 AM. Miya has fallen asleep a while ago. It is uncomfortable. Sakusa doesn’t know how to act around him anymore. He hadn’t known how to from the start. But the face Miya had made when that girl had accidentally and indirectly revealed his feelings… Something tugs on his insides when he thinks of that. Miya turns in his sleep, he has been lying with his back to Sakusa but now he can see Miya's face. Even in the dark the traces the tears have left on his cheeks are visible.

Sakusa feels blackmailed and trapped. Here he is with the solution. He only has to fall in love, only, he has never been in love. He doesn’t like being vulnerable, he doesn’t like physical contact or someone else in his space. Isn’t that necessary for a relationship?

Of course, he has tolerated Miya the past weeks because he needed him. He has endured all the touching to stop the stone process, even when it got too intimate. One time Atsumu had lifted his shirt to touch his waist. The thought of it still makes Sakusa’s insides squirm.

But from all the few places left to touch that are not too private, Sakusa suddenly realises, Miya has never once touched his lips. He doesn’t know what to think of that. Had that not been Miya’s chance? Why did he not take it? The girl had said that it shouldn’t matter where he was touched as long as it was someone who genuinely liked him. Why had it not worked that time in the university hall when Miya had touched his hand again?

With a sigh Sakusa rolls onto his back, he cannot sleep so he might as well succumb to his annoying thoughts.

He has put up with Miya’s eating habits and his quirks. Sometimes Miya is unbearable, no, he is unbearable most of the time. He is irritating. He is selfish and often takes out his frustration on others. Miya has not been with him and helped him out of kindness, he has been with him because he liked him and that was the only way to be close to him. But Miya has also put up with him. He has been considerate enough to wash his hands before touching him, he has started carrying hand sanitiser with him at all times and stopped touching door handles with his bare skin.

Somehow Sakusa isn’t weirded out or outraged at the realisation that Miya has changed a bit to make Sakusa more comfortable. He does feel bad for Miya but Miya had immediately pushed him away once his feelings had been revealed. He doesn’t want pity. Somehow that was a relief but Sakusa doesn’t know what else to give. He should feel angry, shouldn’t he? Isn’t he forced to love him back to stop the whole stone thing? But somehow he isn’t mad. He only feels bad. Really, really bad.

He looks at Miya again. He has gotten used to his weird hair colour, his annoying dialect and his loud laughs. It feels very wrong to see him cry. For the first time in his life he has the urge to touch someone else’s face to wipe away the tears. He fights it down. No pity. He gulps. Miya might be insufferable at times, but he isn’t a bad person. Sakusa remembers how Miya had come to see him as a statue. Every day, sometimes more than once a day. Sometimes staring, sometimes only stealing glances, worried someone might notice. What had been going on in his head? Why had he come? He couldn’t have liked him since training camp, could he? Had they even talked? Sakusa cannot remember and immediately feels bad again. He usually doesn’t feel bad for these kind of things.

Sakusa abruptly turns away and stares at the ceiling. But another memory pushes into his head and demands his attention and denies him sleep. The autumn sun falling into the room, turning that terrible mustard yellow hair into a soft gold and a pair of muddy brown eyes sparkling in the sun. _Please, don’t break, please, don’t break._

How gently Atsumu had spoken to him that day. How warm his hand had been. 

Sakusa shakes his head and groans. He rolls to the side to look at Miya. He lifts his hand and pulls it back. It takes him two attempts until he manages to touch Miya’s face. Miya’s skin is warm and it is surprisingly soft. His fingertips tingle where he touched the traces of Miya’s tears. Sakusa bears with it for a few seconds and then he cannot take it any longer. He has to wipe his hand clean. But he lifts his eyes back to look at Miya, still sleeping.

Sakusa wonders whether people can fall out of love over night.

When Sakusa wakes up the next morning, Atsumu does not look at him as he holds his wrist. It does the charm as usual. You don’t fall out of love over night, even if you have been humiliated. The charm works on his wrist although Atsumu has touched him there before. Atsumu doesn’t explain why but Sakusa has a weird feeling that Atsumu knows why. Atsumu showers first, which is rare. He is quick. Also unusual. He doesn't speak or give Sakusa the chance to ask anything.

He says nothing as he dresses, so Sakusa goes into the bathroom for his shower. When he comes back out, Miya is gone. The room is silent. Sakusa prefers being alone and having his peace. He likes it when it is quiet. But somehow he has gotten so used to Miya that the room feels strangely empty without him. Sakusa hates it but he has to admit that it stings a bit that Miya left without saying anything at all.

He meets Atsumu at volleyball practice where he acts normal. He’s just a bit too loud, a bit too over the top, a bit too cheerful. No one else picks up on it, though. Bokuto simply joins in on being loud. Atsumu tosses as usual. Perfect. Nothing wrong. No one notices anything. But Miya does not look at Sakusa and he says nothing. He briefly touches Sakusa’s wrist after practice. The wrist again. He showered first at least before touching. They don’t walk home together, Miya stays behind talking to Bokuto, so Sakusa leaves.

It’s late in the evening when he feels the uncomfortable cold that creeps up his body. It doesn’t hurt but it is sickening. Sakusa hates it. He looks at his phone but there is no message from Miya and somehow he thinks that Miya won’t spend another night here with him. He wants to understand but it’s selfish of Miya to leave him here hanging. Again. It irritates Sakusa. Everything about Miya is irritating.

It’s 7 PM when he has turned into a full statue, sitting uncomfortably on the bed. The door to his apartment is locked.

It is dark, from where he is sitting, he cannot see the clock. He can only guess. The horrible thing of being in this state is that he still can hear everything around him, he can see whatever is in his field of vision and he can feel every single touch. But he cannot make a sound, he cannot move. 

He cannot really sleep either, he drifts into a weird haze. He half wonders whether Miya will leave him like that. Then when the sun falls through the window on his stone face - surely warm but the warmth does not reach him - he hears someone banging a fist against the door. Angry voices.

“NO, YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND. I NEED TO CHECK ON HIM. I THINK – I KNOW SOMETHIN’ BAD IS GOIN’ TO HAPPEN IF I DON’T –“, Miya is shouting.

The door is opened with a click and Miya bursts in. Sakusa can hear him kick off his shoes, they hit the shoe closet with a dull sound and fall to the floor. Miya slithers over the floor. He’s out of breath. “Is everything okay, Miya?” a voice calls concerned. It is the concierge.

Sakusa feels warm arms around him. The only warmth that gets through to him and with a soft crunching sound the stone turns back into his skin. “Yes”, Miya calls back. He sounds strained. He does not let go and Sakusa lets Atsumu hold onto him. He is cold and he can shower later. Miya radiates heat. Usually Sakusa hates that. He does not want to feel the body heat of someone else, but he does not mind Miya’s at the moment. Finally they sit up. Miya looks at him, finally. He has red eyes and he looks guilty. He looks like he has cried. “Sorry”, he murmurs. It sounds like he had rather not said it. Maybe his brother made him come. Sakusa doesn’t know what to say, so he says nothing. When Sakusa returns from the shower, Miya is still there. They exchange a quick glance and then Miya gets into the shower. He still has his clothes here. He had not taken anything with him when he left the night before.

Before it had… not necessarily been easy, but it worked. They knew what had to be done. Now it is difficult. Like a machine that has gotten rusty. Miya does not look at him, the exact opposite of usually when he stares a bit too much. Sakusa doesn’t like either of the two options. It is awkward. He doesn’t know how to make it any better. They hardly speak and both get lost in their thoughts. Sakusa thinks that if he had the chance to choose, he would have never chosen Atsumu to fall in love with. He can’t really think of anyone he would like to fall in love with, but he had preferred someone who was clean and tidy and respectful. Instead there is Miya, who is messy, always late, who tosses too much in his sleep, who irritates him, who is selfish and sometimes lashes out and could get really mean. Sakusa is abruptly torn out of his thoughts when Miya speaks.

“Is it because I’m a guy?” Miya asks. Sakusa frowns. “What do you mean?” Miya tilts his head. “You never said anything but… I think, I mean… you are weirded out because I’m a guy and I like you”, Miya says. Sakusa shifts uncomfortably. It is different than before. When that girl had revealed Miya’s feelings, it had been indirect, so it was easy to pretend and not to react. But hearing the words come out of Miya’s mouth is different.

He does not want to hear it. He does not like the feeling that these words cause. It’s not the first time someone confessed to him. Is Miya right and it is because he is a boy that it makes him uncomfortable? No. Until Miya asked, he had not even thought about it.

“Forget it”, Miya says. “No”, Sakusa says at the same time. They look at each other.

“I’m not weirded out by that”, Sakusa says. Miya looks strangely relieved. Sakusa has the odd feeling that Miya himself has issues with the fact that he likes a boy. Sakusa knows that Miya is popular among girls. Is that why it bothers him that this time he likes a boy? Somehow it doesn’t fit together. Sakusa doesn’t understand why Miya likes him. It makes no sense at all.

Miya is still looking at him. He looks like he is waiting for him to say something.

“I don’t understand why you like me. That is all”, Sakusa says truthfully. Miya looks startled. There is a faint flush in his cheeks.

“I – just do”, Miya says and looks away. Sakusa frowns. “That’s not really an answer”, he says. “Why do you care? It’s not like it’s going to change anything”, Miya snaps. His cheeks are burning red now. He looks angry. He’s right, of course. What does it change to know why Miya likes him?

“Why then the whole having to touch a different part each time and now the wrist is working fine to undo the process?” Sakusa asks. Miya is still very red in the face. “What do I know?” he says heated. “You do know. The girl said –“, Sakusa starts. “Because I wanted it”, Atsumu interrupts him. “Happy? It didn’t work on your hand back then because I didn’t want it to work. I - I discovered it in the mornings. I didn't do anything weird, I just tried to touch your hand again and it didn't do anything because I wanted... to hold more than just your hand. I would work on any part I wanted it to work. I was being selfish, here's your proof. I know you keep saying that I am”.

Sakusa says nothing. If Atsumu was the one to control on which body part it worked why had he never tried to kiss him?

They go to volleyball practice together and go home together. As Sakusa stands under the hot stream of water he realises that he asked Miya to be even more vulnerable by revealing more of his feelings. He feels bad again and thinks that this time he knows exactly why. He has not meant to be but it had been cruel to ask Miya about feelings that would go nowhere. Nowhere.

Sakusa thinks that he himself isn’t a person one should fall in love with. He doesn’t mind being alone, he likes it better anyway. But he had stood there, missing for months without anyone worrying, without anyone looking for him. Maybe that girl was right. He can’t love and if he could, that person wouldn't love him back.

There has to be another way, one without hurting Miya like that. He would go and ask that girl again. He would force her if necessary to lift that curse, or whatever it was. He can’t stand it any longer.

When he comes out of the shower, Miya is waiting. He has ordered food, but he has not touched anything yet. Aside from wiping down the table. Sakusa’s chest feels tight and he looks down but he is not turning into stone although it feels very much like he is. They eat in silence, but the silence is not as uncomfortable as before.

When they clean up Sakusa has put his thoughts into words and clears his throat. “Listen, I’m going to fix it. The whole… stone thing. Then you don’t have to do it any longer”, he says. He turns to look at Miya and expects him to look relieved. But he isn’t. “Okay”, Miya says finally after Sakusa watched a whole story of shock, anger, and something else play out on his face. He has expected Miya to say something different. Now everything feels wrong. A rusty machine that creaks. But Miya does not storm out angrily, he stays the night and wakes him up by putting his hand on his arm. His fingers linger a bit too long but when he pulls them back, there isn’t that guilty look in his eyes that Sakusa often spots when he catches Miya looking at him. They look at each other and Sakusa can’t remember if they ever looked at each other this long. His fingertips tingle like they had when he had touched Miya’s face and his arms feel heavy as if they were still made of stone. But here he is of flesh and blood and he cannot move at all. He doesn’t know what to say. “Goodbye then”, Miya says. Why is he saying that?

He is no longer angry or shocked, there is something else in his eyes entirely but Sakusa doesn’t understand. Miya moves a bit closer. His eyes look just as they had when he had first touched him and released him in the hall of the university. Sakusa vaguely thinks that Miya is going to kiss him. He does not back away but Miya stops right in front of him, lifts his hand and then touches his hair. Like the very first time he had touched him. _Please, don’t break_. Miya smiles a bit. “Soft after all”, he says. Sakusa doesn’t know what that means. Miya gets up and leaves. Sakusa stares at the door that falls shut behind Miya and feels like porous stone that finally breaks.

It is a Friday and there is no volleyball practice, so they don’t meet at noon. Sakusa is at the university nonetheless. He will ask that girl for a different solution, a solution in which it does not hurt so much. A solution that does not feel like falling apart. The thought of Miya stings and bites. Sakusa wants a solution without him. He needs a solution without him.

He finds the girl sitting in the cafeteria with her friends. She sees him but she does not do him the favour of getting up and walking up to him. He has to approach her.

“Can I have a word?” he asks. The girls giggle. He hates it when girls do that. “Sure”, she says but she stays put. “Under four eyes”, he adds. The girls giggle louder. “Fine”, she says and nods at her friends. They get up and hurry to a table further away. Sakusa has hoped that they would leave the cafeteria to talk outside. He’d rather not sit down here. She seems to know that because she has a smile on her face. She enjoys watching him struggle.

He sits down on the chair opposite her and puts his hands on his knees, carefully not to touch the table or the chair. “So?” she asks. “I want you to lift the curse”, Sakusa says. She raises her eyebrows. “Ah, the person who liked you realised what a mean arse you are and left you?” she asks. That brings up the memory of Miya touching his hair and saying goodbye. It hurts.

Her smile fades. “You… you actually fell in love with someone?” she asks. She doesn’t sound mean. She doesn’t gloat. Sakusa stares at her. “What?” he asks blankly. “No, I don’t want –“, he starts and somehow things fall in place. He doesn’t want Miya to hurt, he doesn’t want to be the reason Miya is hurting because he has come to care for him. It hurts so bad to see Miya leaving because he wants him to stay. 

If he likes Miya back and Miya likes him, too, why did the curse not end?

“You didn’t realise”, she says. “You found someone and fucked up big time, didn’t you?” No, that isn’t true. “I didn't fucked up anything”, Sakusa says but before his inner eye, he sees Miya’s reaction when he told him he would fix it without him.

“That’s on you. You know, there is no other way to solve this. I think I was kind enough to give you the chance to fix it yourself, I helped you, I answered your questions but your egoistic self, pushing everyone away, is –“, she starts.

“You were the one who cursed me. It’s on you”, Sakusa says angrily.

“No, you were the one who sealed this stupid curse! I said no one else will ever love you and you said you didn’t care. I called you a stone cold bastard and you said that’s maybe what you are. And now you finally realise you’re entirely alone and you cannot solve it because someone like you can’t even properly love someone. Goodbye”, she says and gets up. Sakusa’s head is spinning, he has a vague memory of that conversation with her. She had said that she would curse him for turning her down so coldly. He probably had said that she should go ahead because he didn’t care. He didn’t believe in curses.

In disbelief Sakusa walks down to the atelier, it is empty aside from a few empty canvases and a few works in progress. Cabinets full of paint, brushes. Dressing forms. Nothing to help him. Nothing.

As Sakusa turns to look over the room again, he notices that it gets hard to move. Oh no. He has forgotten the time. He wants to get out his phone to call Miya but his hands are already stiff and cold. They freeze in an awkward position. He wonders whether his phone in his pocket will break by his clothes and legs turning into stone. There is nothing he can do. Miya won’t come looking for him this time and surely not here. He said goodbye. Sakusa had said he would fix it on his own. There is no reason for Miya to come. None at all. It is Friday that means that no one would come here for the next two days. No volleyball practices where someone would miss him. Again. No one would miss him, no one would come looking for him. Maybe that girl would come in on Monday morning and throw a blanket over him and shove him into a corner.

It gets dark in the room and night falls. There are steps outside but before Sakusa can get his hopes up, he realises that it is the caretaker locking the rooms. The door clicks loudly in the silence.

The morning sun brings no relief. It is cold. He can hear a few birds tweeting and soon the sun disappears behind rain clouds. The wind howls against the windows and rattles at them like Sakusa against the bonds of his stone prison. There is no escape, no way to move or make a sound. He had tried long enough before, he knows that. Later that day, rain splatters against the window and as it gets dark earlier than usual, the wind moans and whines as if it was in pain, too.

The rain stops on Sunday morning, but the sky remains grey and dark. It is cold in the room. Time goes by slowly. The clock in the room is barely in his field of vision, but he can tell that it is early afternoon when it begins to rain again. Sakusa thinks of Miya. Where is he now?

He probably has returned to live with his brother. Has he taken all his clothes from Sakusa’s apartment back? No, probably not, he doesn’t have a key. But if he wanted them back, he would realise that Sakusa has never come back home. A foolish glimmer of hope. Maybe he doesn’t want them back. Nothing that reminds him of Sakusa. After all, it has been painful for Miya. Not even Miya would come and look for him. He has said goodbye. This is Sakusa’s own fault. He didn’t want to accept that he could ever need someone or want someone.

The clock shows 3:30 PM when there is a muffled ping. He is frozen in stone so he cannot flinch. It seems his phone isn’t broken after all. Another ping. Then silence. No use, he cannot answer it. He wonders whether it is Miya. Who else would text him?

He desperately hopes it is Miya and is almost disgusted at himself with the intensity that he wishes it is Miya. An hour passes and it is almost half past five when then rain stops and a dazzling setting sun breaks through all of a sudden. It paints the atelier in an almost eerie yellow-red.

There are steps echoing through the long corridor outside. But Sakusa no longer gets his hopes up. How long does it take to fall out of love? If one night was not enough, is a weekend enough?

Silence. Probably just a student who snuck in to get some assignment done that he’d forgotten about. Or maybe someone forgot something. Steps. Silence. Steps. Long silence.

The sun is setting, it is slowly getting dark. With a soft click the door to the atelier swings open.

“Omi!”

Quick steps and there he is. Miya. For some reason, there he is. He stands right in front of him and stares up at him, like he has always done. If there was a heart in his stone chest that could beat, it would do so wildly. Like the wind, rattling at the windows. Only when the sun is fully gone and it is pitch-black in the atelier, Miya moves again. For a minute Sakusa thought he had imagined Miya standing there, because he simply wanted him to be there. But Miya switches on the lights and walks up to him. He eyes him and then he lifts his hand and touches Sakusa’s hair. For a long moment nothing happens. Sakusa fears that a weekend was long enough for Miya to let go off him but then there is a crunching sound and the stone turns back into his skin. He gasps for air and coughs at the dryness in his throat. He stares at Miya as he rubs his throat.

“What – What are you doing here?” he asks perplex. Miya looks at him. There it is, guilt flickers across his face. “Checking on you”, Miya says. Sakusa has a feeling that Miya is lying. He often lies. But does it really matter now?

“Thank you”, Sakusa says. Miya looks surprised. “Yeah… uh… so let’s go?” he asks a bit awkwardly. “Is someone else out there?” Sakusa asks. “No, why?” Miya asks and looks at him. “If you try to spook me now…”, he starts. “No, I heard steps, but I guess that was you then”, Sakusa says. Miya’s cheeks flush. “I couldn’t remember which room the atelier was, so I had to check a few until I found the right one”, he murmurs. Sakusa suppresses a shiver that has nothing to do with how cold he is.

Miya turns to him and his hand brushes against Sakusa’s. “You’re cold as ice. Let’s hurry”, he says. Sakusa does not mind the touch even though it isn’t a necessary touch. When they arrive at home, Sakusa pulls out his phone from his pants. The screen is cracked but he can still see enough to see that Miya indeed texted him twice.

_Are you ok, marble man?_

_Did you solve it?_

Although Miya is standing only a few steps from him, he types an answer: “Sandstone”.

Miya’s phone pings and he checks it. He turns around as Sakusa walks past him to the bathroom. He cannot suppress a smile at Miya’s grinning face.

A long hot shower later, he feels better. Miya showers after him and then they sit on the bed. “Should we… order take out?” Miya asks. Neither of them particularly like it but it is late and they are both tired so they agree. "Why did you never kiss me if you could control it?" The question bursts out of Sakusa. "Because I'm not completely delusional, Omi", Miya says as he gets out the chopsticks. He looks up at Sakusa. "I thought... you wouldn't like that. I also would have never touched... you know", he says and looks away. Sakusa opens his mouth. "Surprised that a selfish idiot would care so much?" Miya says in an over-the-top jokingly manner. Sakusa says nothing. They eat in silence and Sakusa watches how Miya carefully washes his hands, wipes the table clean and diligently brushes his teeth after eating.

It’s difficult. He doesn’t know how to say it. There is supposed to be the right moment for these kind of things, but there is no such moment. They go to bed silently. Miya falls asleep instantly but Sakusa lies awake looking at Miya for a while. He has the urge to put the pillow between them aside. He wouldn’t mind being close with someone, if that someone was Miya. He thinks he could even hug him and wouldn’t mind that. Maybe even hold his hand. No, that was too far.

When he wakes up, he is confused. He is not frozen up and Miya is still asleep. He can’t have touched him yet. Had it worked? Had the curse lifted when Miya found him yesterday?

Somehow Sakusa doesn’t feel happy at all. He only realised that he doesn’t mind being touched when it’s Miya. He doesn’t want it to end. He wants Miya to stay. He shifts and sees that they are lying closer than usual. He is lying on top of the pillow that separates their sides and their legs are touching. Skin-on-skin.

That’s why. Sakusa is relieved and then confused. Why won’t the curse lift? Miya stirs before Sakusa can pull back. Miya blinks a few times and then rubs his eyes. “You’re normal!” Miya calls. “Yes, we – you touched me in your sleep”, Sakusa says. “Oh”, Miya says. Sakusa clears his throat and slowly slides backwards although he actually wants to be closer. It’s a Monday, they have to get ready for university. So Sakusa gets up and showers, when he gets out Miya has already started breakfast. Tea for Sakusa, coffee for Miya himself. “Thanks”, Sakusa says and takes the cup. Their eyes meet for a second and Sakusa doesn’t mind that their hands touch. Is this the right moment?

“My turn”, Miya says and disappears into the bathroom. Sakusa lets out a breath that turns into a sigh. Why is it so difficult?

“I want to cook something today”, Sakusa says as they leave volleyball practice later that day. He checks his watch. “If we go now, we’ll still get some groceries”, he says. Miya smiles. “What?” Sakusa asks. The smile makes his knees go weak and he does not like having weak knees. It’s an odd feeling.

Miya looks down. “Oh, nothin’”, he murmurs. As Sakusa walks ahead he hears Miya saying quietly: “We”. Miya thinks that Sakusa didn’t hear him so Sakusa shows no reaction, but his hands cramp in the inside of his coat’s pockets. They buy groceries and carry them back home together. It is a nice feeling. Like they are really living together. Is that what it’s like to be in a relationship, Sakusa wonders as Miya puts the grocery bags down on the table. Miya sighs. “Right, right. Wash your hands. 30 seconds”, he mutters and walks into the bathroom. He takes Sakusa’s coat and sprays both of their coats down with disinfection spray. Sakusa thinks if there is a perfect moment it is now.

“Miya, I –“, he starts. But Miya isn’t listening. “Do you want to start right away? It’s getting late or should I put these in the fridge?” Miya asks and points at the groceries on the table. “No, let’s start right away”, Sakusa murmurs and washes his hands. Miya helps cutting the vegetables and sets the table. “Omi?” Miya asks. “Isn’t the food gonna burn? Your hand! Why didn’t you say somethin’”, he calls and jumps to his feet. His hand closes around Sakusa’s wrist and the stone that has started to spread from his hands disappears. Sakusa turns his head, they’re so close that their noses almost touch. Miya flinches back surprised. He looks embarrassed. They eat and clean up together. Then Miya insists on watching a movie in bed. Sakusa is not a fan of these kind of things but he lets Miya have it. He even lets him choose the movie which is a bad idea because they could not have more different tastes. But it is good in that way that Sakusa can space out while Miya is consumed by the movie. He has to think. He doesn’t know how to phrase it nicely. He’s blunt. He says things as they are, but somehow being blunt about it has proven to be strangely difficult.

He feels something warm on his shoulder. He turns his head and sees that Miya has leaned against him. Miya seems to realise the same second and backs off. “I – don’t mind”, Sakusa says quietly. Miya’s head whips around. They look at each other. Now. Miya slides a bit closer again and looks away. He leans his head against Sakusa’s shoulder. With all that body contact, Miya has to hear how Sakusa’s heart is thundering. The movie ends without Sakusa having taken in even one single scene of it. He isn’t even sure what the title was. Miya is still leaning against him. It’s nice and at the same time, it makes Sakusa feel on edge. It drives him mad. As he wants to start another attempt he can feel the horrible cold creep up again. Miya seems to feel it too because he lifts his head. “Ow”, Miya murmurs and rubs his head. He reaches for Sakusa’s hand. “No”, Sakusa says and pulls back abruptly. Miya looks startled. Although the cold is spreading through his body, he can feel heat rising into his face. “Not the hand”, Sakusa says. “What?” Miya asks perplex. “Okay, where then?” he says after a short pause. Another pause and it gets longer and longer. His legs are already frozen uncomfortably in stone, his arms are getting heavy and stiff. But his heart is still racing.

“Kiss me”.

Miya stares at him, not sure whether he has heard correctly. “Are you – are you sure?” he asks. Sakusa feels the cold reaching his neck, he won’t be able to reply, so he just looks at Miya. Miya leans forward, his eyes glow and then he closes his eyes. Sakusa’s lips are still soft and warm when Miya kisses him although his cheeks have already gotten cold and feel rough under his fingers. Miya presses another kiss on his lips but there is no crunching sound. That’s not how Sakusa thought it would go. A flutter of panic. Then he kisses Miya back and when Miya leans forward they fall back onto the bed. Sakusa’s arms are light and reach up to touch Miya’s face. His fingertips tingle but in a good way. Miya breathes in surprised. He laughs quietly. The laugh that makes Sakusa’s head spin.

“I’m dreaming this, right?” Miya whispers. His lips brush against Sakusa’s and then he pulls back. “I don’t think so, no”, Sakusa says. It is overwhelming. He has never been so close to someone before, physically. “Can you handle it?” Miya asks. He isn’t joking, he looks concerned. Sakusa isn’t sure. “Yeah. I – no, I don’t know”, he says. He feels shaky. He wants to brush his teeth and take a shower, but he also wants more of this. Now Miya grins.

“It was too much”, he says. “No, I’m fine”, Sakusa says and sits up. “So I can touch you again?” Miya asks. “No”, Sakusa says before thinking. He feels like he is going to explode any second. Miya sighs.

“Alright, go take a shower and brush your teeth”, he says as if he knows exactly what is going on inside Sakusa's head. “I’ll do so, too, if it means that we’re sleeping together?” he says with a hopeful glance. Sakusa stares at him. That goes too far. Miya turns red very fast. “That’s not what I meant!” he almost shouts. Sakusa feels heat rising into his cheeks. “Then don’t say it like that”, he snaps. “I just meant without the pillow”, Miya says embarrassed without looking at Sakusa. “No, you’re always tossing in your sleep. I put away the pillow and you punch me in your sleep?” Sakusa says. “I’m not tossing”, Miya disagrees. “Stop being annoying”, Sakusa says and gets up from the bed. “I’ve always been annoying”, Miya says. Sakusa glares at him then Miya laughs. “Fine, I’ll be super still. Just for you”. But when Sakusa returns from the shower and brushing his teeth, he puts the pillow between them. Miya’s face falls. “I just need to check something”, Sakusa says. Miya frowns. He doesn’t seem to think about the curse at all. It is an everyday thing now. So he is surprised when he awakes next morning and Sakusa sits there, awake and human.

“You’re normal!” he exclaims. “Did I touch you again?” Sakusa shakes his head.

“But then –“, Miya says slowly. “We broke the curse”, Sakusa says. Finally he said it. But Miya doesn’t understand. He stares blankly at him. “Oh, well…”, he murmurs. Disappointment spreads openly over Miya’s face. Sakusa’s hands clench around the blanket. Why is he so stupid?

“We broke the curse”, he repeats. “Yeah, I’m not deaf”, Miya says. Somehow he looks irritated. “But stupid”, Sakusa sighs. Miya pulls his legs up to his chest. “Stop sulking and take a shower”, Sakusa says. Miya looks like he is about to refuse.

“You’re never sleeping in my bed again if you don’t –“, Sakusa starts. “I’ll be sleeping in your bed again?” Miya repeats. “What?” Sakusa asks.

“I thought you’d… kick me out or something”, Miya murmurs and looks down. “Why would I do that?” Sakusa asks. “Because the curse is broken. You don’t need me anymore!” Miya calls. They stare at each other for a few moments, then Miya blushes. He looks cute when he blushes. He finally realises what it means.

“Can I kiss you again? Just to be sure that the curse is really broken? The kiss broke the curse, right? Because you wanted a kiss?” Miya asks. “Later”. Miya’s eyes glow. “Really?” Sakusa’s eyebrows twitch. “If you make a big deal out of it, then no”.

Miya leans forward. “Do you really like me back?” he asks. He cannot banish the worried undertone. “Who asks that sort of question?” Sakusa says startled at being put on the spot. He has to look away when Miya gives him that look. “Yes”, he murmurs and Miya smiles happily.

“Does that mean I get to hold your hand when we’re on a date?” he asks as he slips out of bed. “No”.

Miya pouts and recovers quickly. “We’re dating though, are we?” Sakusa glares at him. “Are we?” Sakusa asks back. Miya opens his mouth. “Would you go out with me then?” Miya asks. “I hate going out. I don’t like crowded places”, Sakusa starts but Miya interrupts him. “Not that… Omi, I’m asking you out as in – dating”. Sakusa presses his lips into a thin line and he makes an incomprehensible sound but Miya beams. Somehow he gathers a yes from that, which is what Sakusa meant.

“No pillow tonight?” Miya asks and grabs Sakusa’s shirt. “Miya”, Sakusa says annoyed. “You’re making me regret this –“. But Miya is shaking his head.

“You gotta stop calling me that, Omi”, he says. “It’s Atsumu or I’ll think you’re referring to my brother and no one wants that”. Sakusa opens his mouth as he pulls a grimace. No one wants that, who even thinks about that?

“See”, Miya says, having interpreted Sakusa's face correctly. “Fine”, Sakusa says. “Atsumu”.

That brings a smile onto Atsumu’s face. The smile that makes Sakusa’s knees go weak. Atsumu briefly touches Sakusa’s hair and then rushes into the shower. A bit confused, Sakusa touches his hair where Atsumu touched it. Soft, human, warm. Neither marble nor sandstone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope you enjoyed reading this story. Thank you so so much for the kudos and comments, these make my day!!  
> I plan on writing more Haikyuu stories, especially Sakuatsu~


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